Ratification Date: 25/07/2025

Next Review Date: 25/07/2027

Bereavement support

This is the place to find information and support about bereavement and links to the national and local services that are available to help you at this difficult time.

 

Contents

What is bereavement?

If you are bereaved, it means that someone close to you has died. The term “bereavement” may be used to describe this experience of loss. The term “grief” is also used to describe your thoughts and emotional reactions to the loss of someone you care about and the process you may go through to come to terms with your loss. It can be difficult to predict how you will feel, as it is a very individual experience. It is common for people to experience feelings of shock, numbness, guilt, anger, relief, sadness, despair and many other different emotions. You may also experience some difficulty sleeping, a loss of appetite (or comfort eating), feel drained or have no energy.

 

When someone dies, your feelings may also be influenced by your relationship with the person, what happened before they died, and the support you had or didn’t have at that time. Your feelings may also be influenced by your personality and your background and any religious beliefs that you might have. Supporting someone else when you are grieving too can also be hard. Make sure you allow space for your own grief and have other people you can talk to. There is also no real timeline for how long grief lasts, it takes each person a different length of time to come to terms with the death of someone close to them. Everyone’s grief is different, and each person feels differently as time passes after a bereavement.

Starting to move forward with grieving

You may continue to have days when you feel overcome by grief. But as time goes on, most people find they start to have times when their feelings are less intense. Life will not be the same again, but as time passes, most people are able to remember their relative or friend and talk about them without being overcome by their feelings. Things might continue to be difficult at times, and you may sometimes feel very emotional. This is normal, and it tends to happen less as time goes on. When grief becomes less overwhelming, you may then gradually find there is a little more room for other things in life.

 

When should a bereaved person seek professional help?

Signs that you, (or someone you know who has been bereaved) might need extra help may include: struggling to focus or concentrate, a lack of energy, staying in your room, feelings of depression or anxiety, panic attacks, losing interest in things they used to love, and finding unhealthy ways to cope, such as heavy drinking. If things don’t improve within a few weeks, it may help to see your GP who will be able to help you find the right support.

Sources of urgent support

If you’re looking for urgent support, you can reach out to any of the organisations listed below. If you are at risk of harming yourself or feel in need of immediate support, please call 999 or go to A&E. Support is also available from:

  • Samaritans are available 24/7 to talk about anything that you are worried about.
  • You can call 116 123 for free or email jo@samaritans.org
  • Shout offers text-based support 24/7 to anyone in crisis. You can text REMEDY to 85258 and talk to them about anything.
  • Get NHS urgent mental health help online or call direct 111 and select the mental health option.
  • Papyrus provides help for young people up to the age of 35 at risk of suicide. Call 0800 068 41 41, text 88247 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org. Opening hours are 10am to 10pm weekdays, 2pm to 10pm weekends, and 2pm to 10pm Bank Holidays.

What other support is available?

There is a wide range of support available through websites, telephone helplines, information booklets, face to face support (one to one or in groups).

 

Local Information

 

National Information

What do I need to do after someone dies?

If your relative or friend dies at home, you may be alone with them and unsure as to what to do next. You will need to report the death to the person’s GP or District Nurse. If you are unsure if your friend or relative has died, they can also come to confirm the death as well. You can call the out of hours or 111 service if services are closed.

 

If the death is expected, the GP can confirm the death using a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death for the Registrar. They will also give you the phone number for the registrar so you can register the death with them. A medical examiner will review the death certificate before the GP gives this to you. This is a new process, and so if you or your relatives have experienced a death before, the process may have changed since then. Once the death has been confirmed you can progress the funeral arrangements. Funeral Directors can talk you through the process.

 

If your friend or relative dies in hospital or a hospice, the care team will support and guide you. A doctor or nurse shall confirm the death, and the hospital will issue the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death. This is often emailed directly to the Registrar. Once it has been completed, you can make an appointment to register the death.

 

If the death was not expected, the hospital and or your GP will be able to talk you through the process. In this instance, the death will be referred to a doctor or lawyer who investigates unexpected deaths, who is called a Coroner, and the police may also make a routine visit. If the cause of death is unclear, a post-mortem is carried out (an examination of the body). Most deaths that are referred to the coroner are natural, but this can delay the funeral arrangements. If there are any cultural or religious concerns about a post-mortem, you should discuss this with the coroner. Also, there may be other circumstances where the death may need to be referred to the coroner, the Doctor or medical examiner will explain this.

 

There are lots of resources to help you work through these aspects of bereavement. Here are a few listed below:

End of Life Care Planning

Experiencing a bereavement can be a prompt to think about your own end-of-life care planning. There are lots of free resources that you can access to support this process of thinking about and putting your arrangements in place.

 

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